TONY Abbott has refused to support offshore processing in countries that are not signatories of the UN Refugee Convention, ruling out Malaysia but not Nauru.

Asylum seeker organisations have condemned the Liberal party’s legislative amendments, which could potentially provide no legal guarantee of free access to the courts, as outlined in the UN Refugee Convention.

Opposition Shadow Minister for Finance Andrew Robb says that should the Liberals be re-elected, they will reopen the Nauru detention centre in an effort to restrict asylum seekers’ access to the courts.

“People could be processed off-shore and not have access to the endless legal opportunities that would exist onshore,” he said.

Campaign coordinator for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Pamela Curr, voiced concerns that there is a lack of willingness in politics to accept the fact that people have a right to seek asylum.

“The liberal party is arguing for Nauru for the simple reason that they can close the doors,” she said.

“It means that people have to remain silent while they’re going through their cases, or they risk losing the chance of being accepted.”